“Since Guns‘ version of L.A. Guns disbanded in 2012, he and Lewis have gradually made amends. Last year, the two even performed a full set of L.A. Guns material in Las Vegas. That show paved the way for what’s best described as a gradual reunion, during which the pair have played periodic dates together (billed as “L.A. Guns‘ Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns”) around the tour schedule of the current incarnation of L.A. Guns, which Lewis continues to front.

Things will simplify in 2017, however, when Guns will officially rejoin the band he formed as a Fairfax High teenager. In addition, he and Lewis recently signed a new record deal and are currently working on an album, which will be supported by a world tour that begins with two shows at the Whisky a Go-Go in March. So the pair’s well-received Hair Nation performance provided not only a glimpse into the past, but also a preview of what’s to come.

That past is undeniably complicated. According to Wikipedia, 45 different people have played in L.A. Guns since the group’s 1983 inception, including Axl Rose, Ralph Saenz (better known as Michael Starr of Steel Panther) and current Alice Cooper bassist Chuck Garric. But the two members who have always been most identified with the group are Lewis and the group’s namesake guitarist.

That’s precisely why Guns agreed to use the L.A. Guns moniker for the new album, despite initially resisting the idea. “When you put Phil and I together, that’s the sound of L.A. Guns,” he says. “There’s no way around that. As much as I love certain other [former] members of the band, it’s hard to say what their contribution to the overall sound of the band was — but PhilLewis and Tracii Guns, the band’s gotta be L.A. Guns. It can’t be anything else.”